I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

While Manon and Raphael were locked in a standoff.

Azure text from the system flashed across Reinhardt’s vision and disappeared.

[Interlude Event III: The Bloody Battle at the Port, Complete.]

[Neither you nor your enemies could have predicted the war at Verne Third Orbital Port would escalate to this point. Its very existence as a warzone has even affected the trajectory of the entire Great War.]

[Because of your intervention, this once-insignificant, fringe warzone has completely transformed into a terrifying black hole of war hanging in Verne’s near-Earth orbit.

From the perspective of the Imperial Rebel Army and the Demons, this orbital port, already abandoned by the Human Empire, is nothing more than an insatiable meat grinder.

Over two hundred Void Knights and three Combat Gang Leaders—a powerful force strong enough to tip the scales on the main front and tear a hole in the Imperial Administrative Region’s defensive lines.

Yet when thrown into the orbital port, they disappeared without making a single ripple.

Even Lord Carlos, the Fear Knight, suffered a major defeat there! He flew into a rage upon returning to the Demon Mother Ship.

Even the Bloodsucker Legion’s deployment of over thirty Elite Slaughter Demons and six thousand Bloodletting Whipper Demons was nearly wiped out. It has reached the point where the Void Governor in charge of the orbital port situation is now considering whether he should just pack up and run.

With such a shameful loss ratio, he knew without a doubt that the Bloodsucker Legion’s Void Realm Lord would offer up his head to appease the higher-ups.]

[From the perspective of the front-line command in the Imperial Administrative Region, one hour before you left the port, a third of the Imperial Rebel Army’s main Battle Groups inexplicably detached themselves. They attempted to break free from the engagement on the main front and forcibly advance toward Verne’s near-Earth orbit.

It was as if there was some strategic location there that they absolutely had to capture.

Because of the distraction you caused, the Imperial Administrative Region not only gained a brief moment of respite but also found a precious, fleeting opportunity to launch an offensive.

And when the front-line command reported this intelligence to Grand Governor Sedon, the reply they received was: Reinhardt’s Vengeful Angels and Ash Guard are on a top-secret mission. They are to use all their power and stop the Imperial Rebel Army from deploying forces to Verne’s near-Earth orbit, at any cost.]

The victory of a battle is never the work of one person alone.

The Vengeful Angels and Ash Guard were able to withdraw successfully not just because of their own bloody struggle alongside the Mortal Auxiliary Army.

In the depths of space, unseen from the Third Orbital Port, the Emperor’s Shield and the Death Battle Group, under orders from the front-line command, launched almost suicidal Holy Boarding actions against the Demon Ships to stop them from approaching Verne’s near-Earth orbit.

Furthermore, Sedon and the top experts from the major Battle Groups of the Administrative Region personally oversaw the battlefield, deterring the powerful figures among the Imperial Rebel Army and forcing them to remain hesitant.

[Event settlement in progress...]

[Event Rewards: Power of Treasure Fusion, 2000 Heart Steel Layers.]

[Hidden Event Impact: From this day forward, the name Reinhardt of the Vengeful Angels has truly entered the sights of the top-tier powerhouses in the Imperial Administrative Region.

Your prestige among the major Battle Groups of the Administrative Region has slightly increased.]

[Giant Devouring Current Layer Number: 23,830]

[Physical Enhancement Coefficient: 23.830]

[Heart Steel Goliath Giant Current Permanent Physique Enhancement: 69%]

As the system’s azure text flashed past, the power of the Steel of the Heart surged through Reinhardt’s blood like fire, nourishing and strengthening his flesh and bone.

A small portion of the stamina he had lost—over seventy percent from the high-pressure battle—was also restored.

The Extraordinary Power known as the Power of Treasure Fusion materialized as a giant, golden hourglass, appearing like a sand painting in his system’s field of view.

Afterward, the Knight’s Treasure·Metal Hourglass stored in the arm of Reinhardt’s Power Armor began to merge with his Knight Power. An aura of Mighty Power, like ripples on a lake, emanated from his Physique, pulsing and echoing throughout the Punisher Ship’s cabin.

The process continued until the hourglass had completely fused with the Extraordinary Armament·Frost Fist. The golden sand transformed into threads of light, spreading across the surface of the black Power Armor toward his right hand, all the way to his fingertips.

[Treasure has been fused.]

[Frost Fist Special Ability has been overwritten.]

[You have awakened the Fourth Earth Ring·Sands of Time.]

[Special Ability: Quicksand Cycle. The power of the Sands of Time cycles every thirty seconds. The reverse flow and forward flow represent two different Special Abilities: Time Compression and Time Dilation.

After activating the Sands of Time, the reverse flow of Time Sand can compress the flow of time in a three-meter radius around you. One second is compressed into 0.1 seconds. After one use, you must wait for the Quicksand Cycle to end.

The forward flow of Time Sand will dilate the flow of time in a three-meter radius around you. One second is expanded into 10 seconds. After one use, you must wait for the Quicksand Cycle to end.]

When the system’s azure text vanished, the fluctuating aura from the awakening of the Earth Ring also began to subside.

Reinhardt clenched his right fist, feeling this newfound power. He then removed his Full Coverage Helmet. The metal wires connected to his spinal nerves withdrew one by one like blood vessels, revealing a face dripping with sweat, cold and merciless.

His voice was hoarse and cold.

”That’s enough. Both of you, stand down.”

To a hot-blooded tough guy like an Imperial Knight, the conflict between Raphael and Manon was just another day at the office.

If the Punisher Ship hadn’t been tossing about in a Void Storm, with the seductive Demon Power seeping in from all corners trying to corrupt their minds, Reinhardt would not have intervened.

Because in the world of Imperial Knights, words are useless.

If one fight can’t solve the problem, then have another.

However, it was also because of the power fluctuations from Reinhardt awakening his Earth Ring that the explosive atmosphere inside the Punisher Ship finally eased somewhat.

Although Manon, Raphael, and the others were a little surprised, they were long used to Reinhardt growing and breaking through his limits in the middle of battle.

Stearns, on the other hand, stared at Reinhardt with a look of utter shock.

The astonishment in his eyes was plain to see.

In his fifty years of service, he had seen many exceptionally talented colleagues, but he had never seen anyone whose Knight Talent was so outrageous it could compare to the man before him.

Because he had only recently learned from Lord Albert that this man had just been promoted to the Four-star Earth Military Rank during the battle at the orbital port.

Moreover, awakening an Earth Ring was not as simple and natural as an Official Knight developing a new Special Ability.

Far too many Earth Knights had exhausted themselves trying to develop new Special Abilities for their Knight Power, but very few succeeded. And although the number of Earth Rings was not related to one’s Knight Military Rank...

...the number of Earth Rings was absolutely and positively correlated with one’s actual strength.

Some Imperial Knights with sufficiently powerful Special Abilities could even fight above their rank and contend with Domain Power!

However, Stearns quickly came to terms with it.